Am surprised at the number of queries concerning DAY TRIPS to Normandy from Paris; either to visit the D-Day beaches, or Mont St. Michel, or no reasons/sites specified. I have personal attachments to Normandy and Juno Beach but have never done a day-tripper from Paris. For me it's always been by car; either my own vehicle from Holland where I lived for awhile, or car rental from Caen (which I prefer for a home base) and always for at least one overnight. Would like to hear from those who've actually done Normandy on a DAY TRIP from Paris(by car, train, bus, tour, whatever) and your thoughts, experiences, tips, etc. (aka-the good, the bad, and the ugly).
Posted by
brisbane, queensland, australia
8 posts
I too would be very greatful for any advice given re day trips to D Day beachs and Mont St Michel. We are staying in Paris before going onto Bruges.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
If I was going to do it as a daytrip I would go on a bus tour. Why,, well because it is a LONG day, up and out on the highways at 5or 6 am, drive in an unfamilar country for 3-4 hours, see the site, find a lunch then drive all the way back ,,, exhausted,, rertrn the rental car, or find and pay for overnight parking, make it back to hotel at like 1 am, dead exhausted next day,, no thanks.
Bus tours are also long days, but YOU don't have to do the thinking or the driving. You can and most likely will enjoy a nice nap on the way back, plus the driver actually will get to enjoy scenery instead of just keeping eyes on the road.
Cityrama and ParisVisions both do similar bus tours in a day. Google for prices. Not cheap, but, no paying for parking or for gas , plus as I said the realaxtion factor is worth $$.
NOW, if you have time to make it a two or three day trip( which would be ideal) then no way would I take a bus tour.
Posted by
OP
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Thanks, Pat, the options for a day trip are not good no matter how you cut it. That's always been my opinion and hopefully we'll see some thoughts from folks who've done it in one day and either hated or loved it.
Posted by
Mars, PA, USA
213 posts
I'll let you know when we return. I'm doing this with my family of 5 + my Brother on May 16. We're spending a week in Paris with 3 Daytrips outside the city. While we'd love to spend more time there, it's all the time and $ we can afford.
I can tell you what I know so far-It's going to be a very long day for us. We have to be on a 6:40am train there (not including the Metro to the train). I've booked a private tour with Overlord, so he's picking us up at the station at 9:20 (I don't know how you'd do a nregular tour as they leave earlier than this). I spent the time going over options with him and they he tells me we'll be able to see all the usual American sector (only thing on my list he said no to was Arromanches due to time), as well as brief drive-by's and short visits to many of the Band of Brother's sites (we all just finished watching this and other movies and my 2 boys are excited to see things). We catch the 6:20pm direct train back. I'll post on return!
Posted by
OP
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Thanks for the post, Nancy. You and the guys will enjoy the day I'm sure and having watched some of the films will get that much more out of it. The opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan are probably the most realistic of what the boys faced on 6/6/44 (including one of my uncles at Juno) and for sure there'll be a few 'throat catching' moments. Have fun, am looking forward to your post-visit 'report'. Geoff
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ
27 posts
We arranged for a tour through Fat Tire Tours. We left Paris from the Gare du Nord train station around 9 am I think. Very pleasant train ride through the countryside, arriving in Bayeux where we were met by the guide and his minivan, which we shared with only two others. Spent a great day seeing the sights and returned to Paris by about 9 or 10 PM. Tours are available in Bayeux and you can arrange for your own train tickets. The Fat Tire tour was fairly expensive. Why not make the arrangements yourself and save? Not only is a one day trip possible, it is very doable.
Posted by
Mars, PA, USA
213 posts
FYI- More info. for anyone planning the same thing. Just booked most of our train route there this morning and was able to print my tickets out at home-SNCF (thanks to advice I got here). Can't book the short leg from Caen-Bayeux at 9:05 am, on the way in, since it's a regional train (on the way home there's no transfer-direct to Paris), so I have to buy when I get there, but they told me we'll definately be able to get on it (hope so!). The tickets were (In Euros) 15 Paris to Caen, 19 Bayeux-Paris, and I'm hoping the local Caen-Bayeux will still be 5.50 when we get there, so 39.50 per person TTL. I didn't even price out renting a car as we've never done it and I didn't want someone driving home in Europe for the first time after such a long day. Our private tour is 450E (for 6) plus lunch costs. I should mention also that we'll only be in one museum- Airbourne at St. Mere Eglise. We love museums, but made the time decision to spend our time at the physical sites. More later...